Apr 2016

L ET T E R S M AT T E R

AWESOME COVER STORY

I am a regular reader of your magazine. Contents are very nice, I like it e cover story on Dubai- Gateway to the Gulf was simply awesome as it covered the useful information about the Dubai’s economic status e best part I like that you covered the top 50 Indian Achievers in Gulf. But you printed only a few. It would be nice, if you put more light on all the successful Indians settled in different parts of Gulf If I suggest some Indians who are known to me and they have really struggled in their early stage of life to survive and now they are raising the name of India by their sheer successes and achievements, would you like to carr y their stories in your magazine.

Faizan Ahmed, Dubai, UAE

March 2016

Dear Vijay Nardekar

ank you for writing to us with your feedback. Our team has taken note of your obser vations and w ill surely act on them within the confines of our editorial parameters On the subject of sharing interesting and path-breaking stories of Indians abroad and especially in the Gulf, we w ill indeed be ver y happy to review them if you send these to us for favor of publication Best wishes

MISSI NG EDUCATION, SPORTS AN D CUISI N E

I have been reading your magazine for past two years Articles published in this magazine are really awesome Along with the articles, the advertisements published in it are ver y useful and it also maintains the quality of the contents and sketches. NRI Achievers covers mostly all the sectors but sometimes, few im-

Dear Jyoti Singh

ank you for writing to us with your feedback Our team has taken note of your obser vations and w ill surely act on them

IMPORTANT DAYS

DAT E C O U NT R Y DAY

April 4 Senegal National Day

April 16 Denmark Birthday of H M The Queen

April 17 Syria National Day

April 18 Zimbabwe National day

April 26 Israel National day

April 27 South Africa Freedom day

April 30 Netherlands Queen’s Birthday

portant sectors are ignored like education, sports, and cuisine. Today’s generation is more interested in reading articles related to education, sports etc As I requested you in the previous issue to cover these sectors also but the current issue still lacked with these articles. So I again request you to cover them. anks!

Jyoti Singh, Delhi

within the confines of our editorial parameters We are working on the topics you have sug gested us & ver y soon you w ill find them as regular features in our magazines. Best wishes.

AJAY SINGH

(Former High Commissioner, Fiji)

RAJEEV GUPTA B K AGGARWAL

DR. KAMAL KUMAR

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VARSHA GOEL

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EDITOR: RAJEEV GUPTA PRINTED, PUBLISHED & OWNED BY RAJEEV GUPTA, PUBLISHED FROM A-208, WEAVERS COLONY, ASHOK VIHAR PHASE-IV, DELHI-110052 AND PRENTED AT ROLLERACT PRESS SERVICES C-163, GF NARAINA INDUSTRIAL AREA PH-I, NEW DELHI-110028

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Cover design: Kumar Brijesh

R E A LT Y O N W I N G S O F

R E G U L AT I O N

A N AU S P I C I O U S B E G I N N I N G

With April dawning on us, we are now entering into the Hindu new year, which is traditionally celebrated across the various states of India during this month starting the first weekend of the month. On that auspicious note, our team at NRI Achievers takes the opportunity to wish all our readers a prosperous time ahead in all their endeavours e past month passed without any notable ado, except for the extended debates and acrimony that is part and parcel of Indian political life and bickering among parties of various hues. While the patriotism factor, desh bhakti and what is considered anti-national is still hitting the news, it is now more of a cerebral discussion than a disrupting factor e past month also saw one of India’s popular godmen, Sri Sri R avishankar, organising and hosting a mammoth cultural extravaganza on the flood plains of the Yamuna river in Delhi, which was attended by the who’s who from across the world. Apart from all that, life intermingles and moved on, as we at NRI Achievers also do to take it in our stride. In this issue, we are proud to share with you that we are beefing up our Real Estate coverage, and from now on we will be giving you a lot more quality content on this sector that is set to boom and bloom with India preparing for building 100s of cities. is is triggered by the Indian parliament passing the much awaited real estate regulation, which is now through and enacted into Law. We have inter viewed the Ambassador of Suriname who features in Dossier, which also brings you a stor y about an NRI who has adopted a village in his home state Har yana lock, stock and barrel In Indian Achievers we bring you face to face with a rather unusual personality the less said about it in this editorial the better you read it without our hints. Heritage talks about the 300 different ramayanas, while Silver Screen features an inter view with a father-figure of family dramas Suraj Barjatya. We also bring you the second part of 18 installments of Chanakya’s the distilled wisdom in this issue Other news on milestone happenings is all there under News Scan, Business Buzz, & PSU Buzz Metaphysical Musings takes to your spiritual side, while Diaspora News continues to feature you and your communities.

What’s more, we are on the verge of launching a few yeoman initiatives, like a helpr NRIs, PIOs and OCIs, through which they may connect to resolve any and issue pertinent to them We will tell you more about this as we go along And ishes to all of you for the upcoming new year and vacation season ahead

editornri@gmail com panchhir@yahoo com w w w facebook com/nriachievers http://themediagurupanchhi blogspot com

F ROM H E R B D H A L I WA L TO H A R J IT S A JJA N : TH E R I S E O F S I K H S I N C A N A D I A N P O L ITI C S

OT TAWA: C anadi an Pr ime Minister Just in Tr udeau told a student at the American University in Washington D C that he had more Sikhs in his cabinet than his Indian counterpar t Narendra Modi, he was stating a fact but also being facetious He appointed four Sikhs in November, giving the high-profile national d e fe nc e p or t fol i o to c omb at ve te r an Har j it Sajj an. But t hat t hrowaway remark was e v idence of the evolution of the Sikh community in Canadian politics “ There’s a certain amount of pride and it speaks to Canada’s multicultural polic y but I don’t see it as a challenge to India,” said Satwinder Kaur Bains, director of the C entre for Indo-Canadian Studies at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, British C olumbia.

1 0 TO P G O L DP RO D U C I N G CO U NTR I E S

NEW DELHI: In 2014, global gold production increased by 2 percent f rom the previous ye ar, a c c ord i ng to a Janu ar y 2 0 1 5 U S G e ol o g i c a l Su r ve y ( U S G S ) re p or t . Wh i l e C h i na ke pt it s pl a c e as t he worl d’s s i ng l elargest producer of gold, it was cer tainly not the only countr y to contribute to last year ’ s growth. Pro duction increas es to ok place in t hat c ou nt r y, as wel l as s e ve r a l ot he rs , i nclu d i ng Aust r a l i a , C ana d a , t he D om i n i c an R epublic and Russi a This swel ling of produ c t i on out we i g he d s ome of t he d ip s t hat ot her count r ies exp er ience d, such as Per u, Tanzania, S outh Af rica and the US.

Here are the world’s top gold-producing countries f rom 2014, as repor ted by the USGS 1. China: Mine production: 450 metric tons

LOND ON: e Hinduja brothers have emerged as the richest Asian-origin entrepreneurs in Britain for the fourth consecutive year with an estimated personal fortune of 16.5 billion pounds. e India-born brothers GP Hinduja and SP Hinduja topped the “Asian Rich List 2016” released and the annual rankings showed that they had added one billion pounds to their personal fortune in a year to be worth an estimated 16.5 billion pounds. e Asian Rich List assesses the total wealth of Britain's top 101 richest Asians and is compiled by UK-based publishing house Asian Media and Market Steel tycoon Lakshmi Niwas Mittal was ranked second in the list, released by the Indian high commissioner to the UK Navtej Sarna e fortune of Mittal, however, has plummeted by 3.3 billion pounds to finish with 6.4 billion pounds.

Australia: Mine pro duction: 270 metric tons

Russia: Mine production: 245 metric tons

Unite d States: Mine pro du c ti on: 211 metric tons

C anad a: Mine pro du c ti on: 160 me tri c tons

Per u: Mine pro duction: 150 metric tons

S outh Af ri c a: Mine pro du c ti on: 150 metric tons

Uzb ek istan: Mine pro duction: 102 metric tons

G R E E N TR E N D S I NTRO D U C E S ‘ O RG A N O S S E N C E ’ R A N G E O F FAC I A LS

Green Trends Unisex Hair & Style Salon introduces ‘Organossence’ range of nature based facials. ese facials have been developed combining the best of natural ingredients like oats, honey, sandalwood etc., and professional skin care products, thus giving the benefit of nature & science e Organossence facial range consists of Moisture Lock Facial, Skin Lightening Facial and De-pigmentation facial

JBM & SOLARIS UNVEIL INDIA’S FIRST 100% ELECTRIC BUS ‘ECOLIFE’

With over 80 years of strong heritage in product innovation and creating new categories in the country, Dettol has been consistently ranked amongst the most trusted brands in the countr y Dettol has further strengthened its legac y of product innovation and commitment towards improving the health and hygiene of consumers by launching a solution for the growing menace of air pollution. A 2015 WHO report had revealed that 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India Par ticulate matter (or small airborne particles) is among the most detrimental of these pollutants. Studies link it with increased rates of chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease.

JBM Auto Ltd, India’s leading automotive company, unveiled India’s first 100% Electric Bus ‘ECOLIFE’. is revolutionar y bus has been developed in par tnership with renowned European bus manufacturer Solaris Bus & C oach S A e bus was unveiled by Mr. S.K. Ar ya, Chairman, JBM Group; Mr. Nishant Ar ya, Executive Director, JBM Group; Dr. Andreas Strecker, CEO, S olaris Bus & C oach S A and Mr Dariusz Michalak, Deputy CEO, S olaris Bus & C oach S A ECOLIFE is a zero emission vehicle (ZEV) as it is powered by lithium batteries, which are fast charging through pantograph, and r uns 150-200 kms in 10-15 hrs of city bus operation

M ARUTI GOES ‘N EXA’

For decades, India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki was famous for trailing the field on t nolog y front In 1998, for instance, Hyundai launched the Santro with multi-point fuel injec which helped it meet Euro norms and made it more fuel efficient Maruti was still using the almost-obsolete carburettor technolog y In 2012-13, Maruti decided on a new “liquid flow” design language. e hatchback Baleno is the first product of this ethos. It was an instant hit; sales crossed 10,000 in December and are ruling at 12,000 a month, including exports. It also took some bold steps, such as launching a premium dealership network called Nexa.

AI R

I N DIA STAKE

SALE

Air India may have been a chronic loss-making carrier for more t han two de cades, it may b e s aid to have a re a l ly bloated workforce, and whatever recent strides it has made in terms of projections of turning operationally profitable in FY16 and reducing its losses by almost half is largely thanks to the global scenario, on the back of low jet fuel pr ices and gover nment b ai lout mone y, But minister of state for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma feels that banks and private parties will be keen to hold a stake in it, if offered.

ITC ACQUI RES TECH N ICO AGRI SCI ENCES FOR RS 121 CRORE

FMCG to cigarettes major ITC Ltd said it has completed the full acquisition of Technico Agri Sciences Ltd (TASL), a company owned by its direct subsidiar y Technico Pty L imite d (TPL), Aust ra lia for a cash va lue of INR 121 crore e acquisition, as per a BSE filing by ITC, is expected to “improve business and operational synergies” e acquire d comp any, w hich is into pro duc t ion and sales of a registered categor y and field generated seed potatoes, has been revenue positive for the past three fiscal ye ars. In 2012-13, TASL' s tur nover sto o d at INR 64 89 crore w hich climb e d to INR 73 94 crore in 2013-14 and furt her ro ckete d to INR 105 54 crore in 2014-15. e value of t he acquisit ion is t he s ame as TASL's net worth.

ALTICO CAPITAL I NVESTS

RS 575 CR I N 3 REALTY FI RMS

Non - b an k i ng f i n an c i a l c ompany Altico C apital India said it has i nve ste d I N R 5 7 5 c rore in t hre e re a l est ate de velop ers i n Mu m b a i , P u n e a n d B e ng a lu r u A lt i c o h a s e nt e re d into a mu lt i-proj e c t f inancing ar rangement wit h Mar vel D e velope rs , P u n e. Ad d it i on a l ly, it h a s c on clu d e d it s s e c on d t r ans a c t i on w it h Mi d c it y g roup, a d e ve l op e r h av i ng brow n f i e l d proj e c t s foc us ed on s o ciety rede velopments in prominent lo cations in Mumb a i T h e t h i rd w a s i n B e n g a lu r u , f i n a n c i n g Un i s h i re a g a i n s t a p or t fol i o of f ive proj e c t s , a c omp any rel e as e s ai d T he c omp any exp ects similar amount of disburs ements of around INR 600 crore ove r t he ne x t t h re e mont hs

BH EL CREATES H ISTORY

Bharat He av y E le c t r ica ls L imite d (BHEL) has recorded the highest-ever C ommissioning of Projects in its histor y and the highest Order B ooking in t he last Five Ye ars in fis ca l 2015-16, ending the year with significant tract ion in g rowt h dr ivers. En hance d fo c us on proj e c t exe c ut ion has resu lte d in BHEL cre at ing histor y by way of commissioning/synchronizing an all-time high 15,059 MW of power generating equipment during the year. Wit h t his, t he worldwide inst a l le d b as e of p ower generat ing e quipment supplie d by BHEL has exce e de d 170

GW is includes t he hig hest-e ver power generation capacity addition of 13,061 MW to the Indian utility segment, a quantum jump of 59% over the previous year.

Giving a thumbs up to his achievement as the CMD of the state-run telecom company, Anupam Shrivastava has been given charge of BSNL for another four years Shrivastava was last year appointed the CMD of BSNL for a period of five years or till the time of the superannuation age of 60 years. But there was a condition that his confirmation as CMD would be taken up aer a review of his performance at the end of his first year of tenure. While confirming the development, Shrivastava told a news agency that “this is ver y crucial and a turnaround time for BSNL”

e Centre expects to achieve its ambitious target of 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity generation much ahead of its deadline of 2022, according to Power Minister Piyush Goyal “We are looking at achieving the 100 GW target of installed capacity of solar energy by the end of 2017 itself ” He said solar power generation has already

e Oi l and Natura l Gas C or p orat ion (ONGC), the countr y ’ s largest petroleum explorer, announced an INR 34,012 cr investment to bring into production the Krishna G o davar i b asin oi l and gas field by 2020. “ e investment will be made over four ye ars to br ing C luster 2A and 2B into production At its peak in 2023, the field will contribute 3 5 million tonnes (mt) of oil, around 15 percent of t he tot a l oi l pro duc t ion envis age d by then,” ONGC Chairman D K Sarraf said in a board meeting.

GAI L TO GET RS 400-CR BOOST AFTER H I KE I N PI PELI N E TARI FF

State owned gas utility Gas Authority of India limited (GAIL INDIA) may see its top line getting a boost of around INR 406 cr aer the downstream regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has hiked the tariff for its KG basin pipeline from INR 5.56/mbtu to INR 45 3/mbtu, a sharp increase of 715 percent

crossed 19,000 megawatts (MW) in the just-concluded fiscal. “When we came to power, solar energ y capacity was only 2,400 MW, and the target set by the National S olar Energ y Mission then was 20,000 MW by FY22 But PM Modi later increased the target by five times to 100 GW by 2022,” Goyal added

Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) elected a new international executive council at a warmly contested election, conducted electronically for the first time, where 208 of the 223 international delegates from 21 countries cast votes, electing Niraj Baxi of USA as its President, Noel Lal, Sydney, Australia, Exe VP, R am Gadhavi, New Jersey, USA, VP, Dr. R ajeev Mehta, USA, Dr. Pradip S ewoke, France, Mrs. Suman Kapoor, New Zealand & R ajidre Ti-

wari, e Netherland as International Coordinators Niraj Baxi said, “ e GOPIO is making concer ted effor ts to attract Indian Diaspora entrepreneurs and businessmen to take more interest in investing in India in all spheres ranging f rom business, education, healthcare and social causes With an investment and business f riendly government in India, we see a lot of opportunity for the Indian Diaspora to invest and actively participate in India’s development”.

PIO CREATES DOLLS TO REFLECT ETH N IC DIVERSITY

An Indian-American Har vard University graduate has come up with a new series of seven dolls that represent common girls with ethnic diversity and celebrate them for their brains, talents and leadership Neha Chauhan Woodward, 29, has given each of the seven dolls unique personalities, which girls can relate to e doll collection created by her startup toy company Willow brook Girls and stor y series is based on the similarly ambitious childhood friends she grew up with on Willow brook Road.

PIO BUYS 33% I N B’LURU AI RPORT

Airport operator GVK Power & Infrastructure, which owns the majority stake (43%) in Bangalore International Airport Ltd, is selling 33% holding to PIO Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Group for Rs 2,149 crore to reduce its debt GVK could also pursue a similar divestment move in Mumbai International Airport Ltd

Hanu Karlapalem, a small business owner, says the police stop of a 57-year-old Indian citizen and the ensuing international attention was unfortunate, but that has little to do with why he is now running to become the mayor of one of Alabama’s fastest growing cities "I think the Madison Police Department is one of the best police departments in Alabama," said Karlapalem, who was born in the state of Andhra Pradesh on the southeast coast of India and now runs a network solutions business in Madison He says he has a better vision for Madison than incumbent Mayor Troy Turlock

NRI Achie vers Bureaus

Diplomat’s nite@ASSOCHAM

(L to R) Ambuj Chatur vedi, Executive Director-OIA, Preeti Sinha, Senior President-YES Bank , Sunil K anoria, MD -SREI, S C Aggar wal and D.S. R awat, Secretar y General, ASSOCHAM

H E Ali Llliassou, Ambassador, N iger (R)

Joseph K abakeza, First Counsellor, R wanda interacting with corporate delegates

(L to R) H.E. Ali Llliassou, Ambassador, N iger, M r. Joseph K abakeza, First Counsellor, R wanda, H E Alem Tsehaye Woldemarian, Embassy of the State of Eritrea, & H E Andre sanra, Consulate General, Benin

Highlights of the Diplomat’s nite organised by A SSOCHAM in New Delhi recently. Diplomats & high dignatories were present in the networking night.

REALTY ON WI NGS OF

REALTY REGULATOR PAVING WAY FOR FAIR DEALS

Vinod B ehl

e propos ed Real E state Reg ulator cleared by the Indian Parliament and aided by reforms, will empower and protec t proper t y buyers and investors, pav ing the way for more organised, fair, credible and transparent proper ty transactions, thereby making real estate- investors- friendly.

recent sur ve y by the Ministr y of C onsumer Affairs, dubbed real estate sector as the second worst industr y aer telecom in terms of quality of ser vice. e pre vailing liquidity crisis, unaffordable property prices, high deliver y defaults, tepid sales and low investor confidence has plunged the sector into crisis. In this backdrop, Real Estate Regulator y Authority (RERA) cleared by the upper house of parliament assumes significance as it seeks to check fraudulent practices and provide a fair deal to property buyers

e consumer- friendly landmark legislation is aimed at setting up regulator y and redressal mechanism, the absence of which is responsible for the present mess in the real estate e key provisions of the legislation that brings brokers along with developers under its ambit, include mandator y registration of projects with complete information on project plan, lay out, approvals, land title, schedule for completion, ban on pre- launching and advertising any project without all necessar y sanctions ensuring mandator y disclosures in project advertisements and prospectus to check any gap between promise and deliver y, sale of property only on the basis of clearly defined carpet area in order to ensure that the buyer gets exactly the space for which he has made payment, mandator y escrow account for the project to check any diversion of funds that result in delays along with fair compensation for delays in delivery, addressing issues related to quality of construction, speedy dispute resolutions with penalty and imprisonment for non- complying developers.

ough this model legislation cov-

ers b oth residential and commercial real estate including ongoing projects, yet it’s the residential real estate which is going to get big boost , especially by boosting the confidence of home buyers. Unlike in the past, now the home buyers can take informed decision to invest with all the project information at their disposal which developers and brokers are now liable to dis clos e In this context, it is worthwhile to mention that one single most factor resp onsible for keeping home buyers away thereby resulting in luke warm sales, was the sheer lack of safety of their investment, especially in view of extraordinarily long delays in project completion with buyers money stuck for years without redressal But now RERA will ensure timely completion with time frame for completion and deliver y of registered projects to b e clearly mentioned and adhered to.e mandator y project- specific escrow account will ensure that as much as 70 percent of the money collected by developer for certain project from buyers

is not diverted elsewhere, thereby ensuring that project is not delayed due to fund cr unch e es crow mechanism will als o guarantee s ecurity of the money invested by home buyers e provision of a mo del and fair buyer- seller agreement under RERA, will put an end to shor tchanging of home buyers on account of hidden charges like External De velopment

Charge (ED C), Internal Development Charge (IDC), parking charges, maintenance fee, club charges and preferential lo cation charges etc S o, there will b e no es calation of charges and the home buyer will not b e liable to pay any charges other than the ones mentioned in the agreement e provision of speedy and time bound dispute redressal within two months , is also a big confidence booster for home buyers who are till now deprived of this and are forced to r un f rom consumer cour ts to lower cour ts to higher courts for justice

RERA is fully supp or ted by the ongoing reforms in the real

“CONSUMER SATISFACTION THROUGH UNIFORM REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT ”

VENkAIAh NAIDU, UNION MINISTER FOR URbAN DEVELOPMENT

On the need to regulate real estate sec tor

Keeping in view the burgeoning real estate with over 76000 real estate companies in the business and about one million consumers mak ing investment to buy a house, there was a dire need to come up with a regulator y mechanism that could benefit b o th co n su m e rs a n d p ro p e r t y d e ve lo p e rs by accom m odating their concerns Such a regulator was required to bring in much needed fair play and transparenc y in real estate transactions.

On RERA catalyzing foreign investments

With th e intro d u c tio n o f p ro p e r re g u lato r y framework, bringing in transparenc y in real estate transactions, the market sentiment and confidence of foreign investors will get a boost. And once the bill gets notified, more investments will flow

On granting infrastruc ture status to real estate

Real estate regulation is a precursor to according the sector. Now following the passage of the Real estate Regulation & Development Act 2016, once the regulations are in place and regulator is set up with accompanying measures, the Finance Ministr y as per its promise will look into the long pending demand of granting industr y status to the sector.

On key to the success of regulator y ac t

The key to success lies in its effective implementation The cooperation of states for faster clearances to projects is sought to make this bill (that will override all state legislation) a success.

O n sin g le w in d ow clearan ce to ch eck projec t delays

The Real Estate Regulator y Authority

under the Ac t, has been assigned a prom otional role for mak ing recommendation to the concerned g over n m ent fo r the creatio n o f a sin g le w in d ow syste m in o rd e r to e n su re tim e ly exe cu tio n of the projects.

O n co n cern s over in clu sio n o f u n d erconstruc tion projec ts in the Ac t

U n d e r- co n stru c tio n /o n g o in g p ro je c ts h ave

been brought under the pur view of the Real Estate Regulator y Act to address the grievances of lak hs of consumers who are yet to get the possession of their home However, we are seized of the concerns expressed by real estate developers in this regard. In order to properly address this issue, we will come out w ith clear cut norm s for th e o n g o in g p ro je c ts while framing the rules

O n ap p reh en sio n s over R eg u lato r y Ac t ’s c ap ab ilit y to check home prices

Our ultimate intention i s to c re a te co ns u m e r s a t i s -

faction The Bill is clearly aimed at preventing speculation and curbing black money which push up prices Fur ther, the mechanism for early clearances will help bring down prices.

On long-term impac t of RERA

By providing a uniform regulator y environment, th e Ac t w ill ro o t o u t u n scru p u lo u s p laye rs a n d check malpractices and promote orderly growth of the sector, increasing the contribution of the real estate sector to the countr y ’s GDP

The Bill aims to bring in transparency in the real estate sector, thereby, encouraging investments from foreign and domestic financial institutions and protecting the interest of the home buyers It will place the Indian real estate market, which currently is fragmented and unorganized, at par with that of other developed countries with clear accountability of developers through the establishment of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). Mandatory disclosure of projects, including details of the promoter, project, land status, clearances, approvals, etc. would increase the credibility of developers and would protect consumer rights as well. The provision of mandatory escrow account, a relief for home buyers, is likely to result in the builders losing fungibility of money, thereby, resulting in price hike ”

Sanjay Dutt, Managing Director India, Cushman & Wakefield

b er of p olic y initiatives like 100 p ercent ser vice tax exemption for affordable homes, additional yearly rebate of Rs 50000 on housing loan interest for first time home buyers in affordable segment with loans not exceeding Rs 35 lakhs.. hike in limit of deduction for rent paid to boost rental demand for affordable housing Earlier, similar policy initiatives were taken like National Housing B oard and HUDCO creating a p o ol fund to promote affordable housing by incentivizing cashstrapp ed de velop ers engaged in affordable housing

Lack of sustained fund flow has been the biggest bane, restricting the supply, leading to housing shortage, particularly in mass housing.But now with RERA becoming a reality, it will pave

Real Estate bill through inbuilt protection will help improve the sentiments of home buyers by boosting their confidence level and making them more comfortable while buying properties as they will be protected against any exploitation at the hands of builders The bill will bring more transparency in the working of the sector by promoting professionalism and standardization of industry practices, ensuring better working environment for builders.”

estate/housing sector. which will prove a big boon for the affordable/low cost housing in line with government’s flagship mission of , ’Housing for All’.is year ’ s budget has address ed the affordability issue through a num-

The real estate bill is an important development towards the regulation of realty sector and to provide relief to the home-buyers by way of ensuring transparency, accountability and protection of home buyers and investors. It will consolidate real estate sector by weeding out non- credible players, much to the benefit of serious players. The bill however needs to be balanced by fixing accountability of approving authorities.”

Manoj Gaur, President CREDAI NCR & MD, Gaursons India Ltd

way for industr y status to housing , particularly affordable housing to facilitate cheap bank funding It may be mentioned that banks exposure to real estate in India is merely 3 percent while it is 10 times in the U S e major polic y decision in this year ’ s budget to boost REITs by abolishing Dividend distribution Tax, will help developers raise funds for affordable housing, besides commercial real estate

Faster approvals are a key to affordable housing as delayed sanctions result in cost over runs.Project sanction is a long and tedious process where developers need to seek over three dozen clearances for construction and completion. As such there is an urgent need for simplifying and streamlining the

Om Chaudhry, Founder & CEO of FIRE Capital and Chairman & CEO of Astrum Value Homes

The Real Estate Regulation would enhance the credibility, transparency and trustworthiness of real estate, benefiting all stake holders, particularly the consumer. With the passage of the Act, the last hurdle in treating housing projects as infra projects also gets removed. However, the inclusion of ongoing projects under the legislation will be impractical, time consuming and expensive.Credai expects Union Urban Development Minister to consider excluding ongoing projects from the ambit of the legislation ”

Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI) National

process to fast track approvals. Some states like Maharashtra, under its new housing policy, is working to speed up the approval process by reducing number of approvals and making it online.e Centre, as part of its reform policy of ‘Ease of doing business’, needs to bring out a ‘model mechanism’ to ensure faster approvals for other states to follow.

RERA calls for this and an expert committee constituted by the Housing Ministr y has come up with a reform blueprint in this regard to check large scale deliver y de-

The bill addresses some real issues that will bolster the sector: It will help the industry to grow in an organized manner and will check entry for the unorganized players. With this bill the long subdued sentiment in the real estate sector is expected to get the much needed boost”

S K Sayal, MD & CEO, Bharti Realty Ltd

faults that not only add to the cost but also shake the confidence of property buyers and investors.

A recent study by CB Richard Ellis says that the real estate sector can double its share in GDP to 13 percent with the aid of reforms With urbanisation expected to grow at a CAGR of 2 percent over the next two years,,RERA can be used as a tool to achieve double- digit growth with reforms like online sp eedier projects sanctioning,

The bill regulating residential and commercial real estate, once made a law, will not only protect property buyers but will also boost investments in the sector. With provisions like escrow account and fast track dispute resolution mechanisms for consumer grievances, the bill will prove to be consumerfriendly. The builder community will also get benefited as the bill would promote fair play in realty transactions.It would distinguish between genuine and fraud builders and make serious builders stand out with quality work and timely delivery ”

Prashant Tiwari Chairman, Prateek Group

simplified and rationalis ed taxation through GST, liberalised FSI & density norms to boost supply

Once the central bill takes the shape of Act, states will have to come up with their own f rame work of RERA.With its implementation, RERA will wip e out the negative image associated with the f ragmented, unregulated and opaque realty s ector, in turn making real estate an attractive ass et class for domestic and foreign investors But then the key to its success lies in implementing it in letter and spirit so that it does not end up as another piece of legislation.

TI M E TO M O N E TI S E N RI REAL ESTATE ASSETS

e pass age of the hi stor ic Real estate Reg ulation & D e velopment Bill 2016, pav ing the way for setting up of much awaited real estate reg ulator, to s afeg uard the interests of real estate con sumers, br ing ing in tran sparency and fair play in proper ty transactions, is a landmark reform. Together w ith thi s, many other ke y refor ms like ‘Ease of Doing Bu siness’, have considerably improved the market sentiment towards making real estate an attrac tive asset class. In thi s backdrop, it i s the r ight time for NRIs to leverage the investment potential of their locked up proper ties.

Anumber of NRIs own ancestral properties in India and are probably not able to get the best returns out of them. For example in Mumbai, it has been obser ved that there are many NRIs who own ancestral bungalows in prime areas like Juhu, Bandra, etc. which are lying idle or are given on rent at below average rates. Generating new land is difficult in metro cities, hence the demand for such properties is ver y high Developers have been eyeing such properties since a long time and are willing to pay a heavy premium for the same.

ere have been several instances in which NRIs have encountered prop er ty disputes relating to illegal o ccupation of lands by encroachers. Hence, it is in the best interest of NRIs to convert their existing sizeable land parcels/prop er ties into residential or commercial buildings, before they get encroached upon

HOW TO MONETISE PROPERT Y

Ajay Jain, Executive Director & Head, Real Estate, C entr um C apital lists out & analys es a numb er of ways in which NRIs can monetis e their properties.

JOI N T DEV E LOP M E N T AG R E EMENT ( JDA)

NRIs can enter into a JDA with developers, for redeveloping their land and could keep a fe w units for themselves is way, they remain connected to their ro ots and at the same time als o earn a sizeable amount of money.

e major advantage ass o ciated with this metho d is that the owner ’ s share in the profits of the overall project could b e higher compared to an outright sale amount. If the builder is able to s ecure a high FSI, he could build multiple flats thereby resulting in increased profits However, NRIs need to b e cognizant to the fact that, this route may face cer tain hurdles in terms of delay in p ermissions f rom civic authorities resulting in a high opportunity cost Also improper pricing of the new development will result in reduced profitability

OU TRIGHT SALE

Another option could b e to go for an outright sale of property, since such land parcels carr y high premiums is route makes available immediate funds to the owner which can be used to

invest in other asset classes Also it takes away the risk of encroachments and maintenance of the property.

An outright sale however needs to b e done at the correct valuations, which are sometimes difficult to find

C OM M E RC IA L DEV E LOP M E N T & LEASING

e C ommercial Real Estate s egment has b een under p erforming in the last 2-3 years Howe ver, a turnaround of the economy with an estimated GDP growth of 7.5-8% in FY2016-17, is likely to give a boost to the MNCs entering India. In addition, operations of Indian entrepreneurs are also expected to improve e Central G overnment’s recent initiatives for promoting start-ups will further augment the growth of commercial real estate in India which is already on the recover y path

In commercial leasing the ownership of the property remains with the owner as do es any future capital appreciation. Maintenance costs are also b orne by the less ee Howe ver, the prop er ty cannot b e vacated till the lease tenure is over. Corporates usually go in for long term lease agreements

and early termination can result in forgoing rent for a few months

LEASE RENTAL DISCOUNTING (LRD)

A sub s e t of c om me rc i a l l e as i ng , LRD enables the owner to get immed i ate f u nds ag ai nst re nt a l re c e ipt s d e r ive d f rom l e as e c ont r a c t s L R Ds

are usually at a rate of 11-12% which are rel at ively che ap e r t han ot he r mo des of f inance

SUGGESTED WAY FORWARD

ere are reputed advisors and brokers w ho w i l l felicit ate an appropr iately structured deal and suggest the right developer for a fee Credentials of the developer are most important While going for a JDA ,it is essential to choose a developer who has completed projects in the range of 5-7 lacs sq  in a radius of 5 kms of the proper ty It is easy to secure these details as his work will be known in the area and information with regard to quality and timely execution can be ascert aine d. Fur t her b eing a lo c a l developer, he would be familiar with permissions & approvals required

It is imp or tant that the NRIs study the taxation structure in detail before entering into any agreement. It is advis ed to consult a tax advis or who can help with efficient tax planning structures

for Rs. 425 crores. Cyrus Poonawalla became the owner of Mumbai’s iconic Lincoln Hous e on Breach C andy for Rs 750 crores A prominent industrialist b ought a s ea-facing triplex penthouse on Napean Sea Road for Rs. 202 crores. Harish Ahuja, Managing Director of Shahi Exp or ts, b ought a bungalow on Prithviraj Road, Delhi for Rs 173 crores Ess el group b ought a bungalow spread across a 2.8 acre plot in Lutyens’ Delhi for Rs. 304 crores f rom Anant

R aj group

S ome of the real estate developers, who are actively par ticipating in the redevelopment projects include Ekta Developers, Chandak Group, Supreme Universal, A&O Realty, Gundecha Group, Kalpataru, Sheth Realtors, R adius Developers, etc

C ONCLUSION

The mandatory registration of all the real estate consultants under the new legislation is bound to help professionals like us to give better service to the end customer and can also help in building a credible image of the consultants in the customers’ mind. With the registration of agents and projects becoming mandatory, the buyers will see the project development actually happening but not on just paper ”

If you own a ready flat/commercial office up to 10,000 s q., then it is favourable to go in for an outright sale or a lease rental agreement provided you are getting the correct valuation

If you are holding a land plot / bung a l ow of a l arge s i z e, t he n a J DA with a reputed de velop er would b e a preferred option

RECENT DEALS

e year 2015 witnessed some of the biggest bungalow deals in the histor y of Indian real estate, where corporate giants took over similar assets:

e iconic Jatia House on Malabar Hill in Mumbai was b ought by industrialist Kumarmangalam Birla

It is evident that though the real estate market is currently facing s ome headwinds with respect to land generation Making available land parcels for fur ther de velopment will help in increasing supply of residential real estate , thereby stabilizing prices and giving the required impetus to revive the sector Demand for exclusive ancestral prop er ties at go o d lo cations can attract good valuations, making it a win-win situation for all stakeholders Hence we feel that it is the right time to unlock the values of these idle prop er ties and b etter le verage the locked up investment.

Sam Chopra, Founder & Chairman, RE/MAX India

A

SU RI NA ME

A CU LTU R ALLY DIVERSE SOCI ETY

“e

Aformer Dutch colony, democracy in Suriname has gained strength in recent years, creating an economy more diversified and less dependent on Dutch financial assistance. e countr y ’ s biodiversity makes it an attractive destination for eco-tourism e countr y still faces some challenges in terms of broadening its economic base, diversifying its trading par tners and improving the business environment. Here is a profile of the tiny South American nation

Suriname is located on the nor thern coast of South America One of the smallest countries in the continent, it is yet population-wise one of the most ethnically diverse in the region. e economy is dependent on a rich extensive supply of natural resources, most notably bauxite, of which it is one of the top producers in the world. e southern four-fihs of the countr y is almost entirely covered with pristine tropical rainforest. Formerly known as Dutch Guiana, Suriname was a

plantation colony of the Netherlands that gained independence on Nov 25, 1975

From 1980 to 1987 the countr y was governed by a succession of militar y regimes before a new civilian constitution was approved in 1987 Another militar y coup took place in 1990, but the countr y returned to civilian rule the following year e capital, Paramaribo, lies 15 km from the Atlantic Ocean on the Suriname River.

S outh Asians, descendants of contract labourers from India, are the largest ethnic

g iant snow mountain on its path cuts across different cultures from Islam, both Tantric-Mahayana and Hinayana form of Buddhism, Hinduism and even shelters the fierce head hunters of Nagaland among numerous other tribes and sub tribes w ith their distinct heritage. Sikkim is one such former Buddhist kingdom g row ing by the mountains shadow.”

group in Suriname, making up more than one-fourth of the population e second major ethnic group accounting for nearly one-fih of the population is the Creoles, who in Suriname are people of mainly Af rican descent. e descendants of Javanese people (from the island of Java in Indonesia) contract labourers and the Maroons (descendants of escaped slaves of African origin) each constitute nearly onesixth of the population. At least oneeighth of the population is of mixed ethnicity and ancestr y Aboriginal descendants of the original inhabitants of Suriname make up a mere tiny fraction of the population. Minor ethnic groups include descendants of Chinese, Lebanese, Portuguese, and Dutch immigrants; Creoles f rom the West Indies; and U S citizens More recent immigrants include Chinese known in Suriname as “New Chinese” to distinguish them from the descendants of those Chinese who were brought over as labourers in the 19th centur y and Brazilians who arrived in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Suriname is a culturally diverse society,

with harmonious contact between its ethnic groups in the cultural sphere. Fine arts such as painting and sculpture were traditionally middle-class concerns dominated by Western cultural standards, but since independence the works of ar tists f rom different ethnic groups have received more recognition. Culinar y traditions cross ethnic lines, and elements from South Asian,

Nearly three-fourths of the Surinamese population resides in urban areas. Some one-fih of them are concentrated in the capital Paramaribo and its environs Many of the city's Dutch colonial buildings remain intact, and its historic centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2002. Smaller urban centres include Nieuw Nickerie in the northwest near the Guyanese border; Albina in the northeast on the border with French Guiana; Moengo in the centre of the bauxite-mining region in north eastern Suriname; and Paranam in the bauxite-mining and bauxite-processing region on the Suriname River south of Paramaribo Small settlements of Maroons and Indians make up almost the entire population of the interior. Some Indian villages are located in the coastal area, and nomadic groups live along the Brazilian border in the south

Javanese, Creole, Western Af rican, and Chinese cuisine are oen blended

A WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE

— Aashna Kanhai Ambassador of Suriname to India

Ms. Aashna Kanhai is the Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Suriname to India and Sri Lanka, based out of New Delhi, India. NRI Achievers touched base with her to learn more about this small South American country that has a large Indian Diaspora population, to which she too belongs. Unlike many other Indian Diaspora rich countries that were under the British dominion, Suriname’s Indian Diaspora came to the country mostly through the Dutch East India Company. Till today, Suriname is very closely connected with the Netherlands, and Dutch is a lingua franca in the country. Our Consulting Editor spoke to HE Aashna Kanhai about her country and her own life, which we reproduce here partly in her own words, and partly as a narrative ...

Whenwe met Her Excellency Aashna Kanhai, she came across to us as a very warm and engaging lady sans any pomp and formality. Interacting with our team, making us comfortable in the room designated for the interview, plying us with excellent tea and refreshments, she was the perfect hostess as we prepared the setup for our simple audio interview and photography. Once settled, we simply led her have the lead and let her narrate to us in her own words those aspects of her story and her experiences, her impressions of India and its people that she wished to share. Here goes:

“Like a lot of Surinamese people, my origins are from India where our family roots lie. The Suriname branch of our line and family tree starts with my great grandfather, who reached the shores of Suri-

name some 150 years ago. So in effect, one could call us PIOs. The PIOs in Suriname, apropos, are really doing wonders and contribute greatly to the growth of our country—there are doctors, lawyers, financial specialists, many many other professions. And of course in agriculture PIOs are dominantly engaged. You can say in Suriname business and agriculture Indians have a good hold, though not in politics.

“In Suriname, Holi, Diwali, Eid-ul-Fitr are all national holidays. Diwali is so important a festival that at our National Square in Suriname, starting with five days prior to Diwali, everybody —everybody, including all ethnic groups, religions light up the Diyas. Ethnicity of population wise, we have an almost equal or identical proportion of ethnic communities in Suriname —Indians, Africans etc.

“As PIOs we speak Surinami Hindi which is a blend of old Bhojpuri, Awadhi & Maithli of India. It is an original language and we generally converse in this lingua at home, markets et al., but it is also quite commonly used in politics, and is heard as political speeches etc. In political speeches a typical concoction of half Hindi and half Suriname Hindi is often used. In our temples too Hindi is spoken and it is actually taught in the Temples of Suriname, just as we have Arabi taught in Masjids. Hindi however is not taught in our schools. In Suriname we have 27 distinct and different spoken languages. The official language and our mother language is Dutch. creole is a common language. I for one am proficient in Hindi, English, Dutch, Spanish, Arabic, creole and Surinami Hindi. This is in fact not re-

ally considered a accomplishment of any sort, as many Surinamese are polyglot — multilingual —due to the mix of ethnicity we have and the way all languages are encouraged and kept alive both culturally, socially and linguistically.

“In Suriname we have 33% representation for women in the parliament. Out of 13 ministers in our government, 4 are women. We have almost equal menwomen representation in economic sectors, in companies etc. In almost all sectors women are playing a key and growing role. 99% of our women are literate and have higher education — whereas men generally tend to be less qualified, they have this tendency to get more into commercial activities —set up small businesses, offer services etc., they invariably want to start earning early. So in the University, the majority students will be girls. They are generally all study and no work but when I was in college, I used to do part time work to earn extra pocket money.

“By profession I am a Lawyer, International Law is my specialty, and I studied law in Holland. Before getting into Law, I was a columnist for a newspaper. I like to call myself a typical ‘Desh Premi.” To give you a glimpse of my individual predilections, I am a bit of a foodie, and my culinary likes are a bit adventurous —I like Tandoori Aloo (Potato) very much. In south India I like Masala Dosas. Momos too I like. I am a strict vegetarian, though during auspicious occasions only. Though it might be thought immodest, I like to say that I am a very good cook. For realising my inclination towards the arts I have taken to music —it is said I am a good vocalist, a singer. My favorite Indian film stars in Bollywood are Nawazudin Siddique for his different style of acting like in Bajrangi Bhaijan, Badlapur, etc. I

(L to R) H.E. Mr. Hans Dannenberg castellanos, Ambassador, The Dominican Republic, H.E. Forbes July, High Commissioner, Guyana, H.E. Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador, Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.E. Ashwin Adhin, Vice president, Suriname & H.E. Aashana Kanhai, Ambassador, Suriname during a programme in Antarrashriya Sahyog Parishad in New delhi recently

like Naseerudin Shah also very much. On a cerebral level, I am a religious/spiritual kind of a person as well, and like visiting places of worship. Here in India, I found you have Shani Mandir, and I have positively come to love Shani Mandir because we don’t have such in Suriname. (On our asking her if she would like to establish the one there, she averred that it wasn’t really possible, as she was a woman and women do not establish temples … ) Apropos Kali Ghat - I can go to Kali Ghat any time, again and again as many times as I want, because I get recharged by these visits, it gives me loads and loads of energy. I love visiting Dargahs, and here in Delhi I have been to the Dargah Nizammudin. I am keen to understand Islam and its followers, especially the people in Islam. I am quite a bit into philosophy, and have been

passionate since my childhood about the seven wonders of the world —and honestly, by the grace of God —I have been blessed with the grace to have seen them all in this lifetime. And I am thankful, grateful. So, almost immediately on my arrival into India, guess where I went —I immediately visited the Taj Mahal.

“I have often been asked during these last few years I am here if I was not keen to visit my roots here —meaning seek out any family members etc., from tracing connections that go back to 200 years. Well, frankly, at this point of time, I am very ambivalent about it —I am not too passionate about it and do not really want to visit my great grandfather’s ancestral

place. Because frankly after two centuries, there is really no use for me to go and try to locate and meet people whom I would not know and may not be able to relate to. Yes, my father was quite passionate about finding roots and he did make efforts, and also succeeded in his heydays —and that was long ago. He visited, he related. I am not dismissing this ‘pilgrimage’ of sorts completely —maybe the next time I am in India I will steel myself to go. My father apropos has roots in Basti and my mother’s root go back to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.

“In sum, my journey to India has indeed been very rich in terms of experiences, emotions, sentiments, some feelings of homecoming (ambivalent …). I have picked up so many great things from this land of my ancestors during this brief tenure here in this region. And Indian society is so diverse that I have taken a lot, assimilated a lot. If I talk about India as a whole, I can say that it gives one such a vast perspective that it is indeed extremely overawing. As a diplomat and the Chargé d’Affaires here, I have managed to get some few good things done, like expanding our consular footprint in the subcontinent —we have opened for example a consulate in Bangalore —and on other

Rajeev Gupta, Editor, NRI achievers with H.E. Ashwin Adhin

fronts like trade and commerce, our team here has had some success in getting Indian interest for investments into Suriname. There are immense opportunities for foreign investments in Suriname sectors like mining, agriculture, healthcare, etc. We have a lot of gold/bauxite mines. Then of course we have more than good reserves of crude oil where investments are needed and are now being made welcome by our present government. I am keen that investments from India flow into Suriname and we in this mission look forward to opinion builders like you in the Indian media to publish about opportunities with us, and also introduce and encourage Indian investors to engage with us with a view to do investments and business in Suriname.

“Overall, Suriname and India have had a very cordial and good diplomatic, economic and trade relationship historically,

not to mention close linguistic, social and cultural ties which hark back to common roots. So much so that when just last month, when our Vice President H.E. Ashwin Adhin visited India he was warmly given a cordial welcome by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took time to interface and discuss Indo-Suriname relations. I have also had good experiences in promoting people to people connections, and your government too has been very gracious and generous when it comes to common heritage, diaspora connects et al. So when your foreign minister Shushma Swaraj ji inaugurated, unveiled the Suriname Memorial at the Suriname Ghat along the banks of river Hooghly last year, I was there, and my turn to speak a few words at the ceremony came, I became very much emotional.

“I am unable to specify any one place

in India that I can call my favorite place, because in India I just simply love the distinctiveness of each and every place here. But as I said, the most familiar place for me remains Bhowanipur in Bengal. That is because this is the very place from where my ancestors were seen in India for the last time before they were sent to Suriname.

“My tenure here is soon coming to an end, and I will be taking up what new assignment my government will now entrust me with. But for me this opportunity that was given to come and serve my country in India means that I will now keep coming again and again.

A

The writer is an technocrat who dabbles in journalism print & broadcast photography & creative visual arts.

Suchindran Chakravarthi

47 year old Gorav Ag gar wal is an NRI based out of the United States, who was specially inv ited by Har yana State Chie f Minister Jagdish Lal Khattar to come and take par t in the recently concluded “Happening Har yana 2016” summit that took place in March at the millennium city of Gurgaon on the outskir ts of national capital D elhi. G orav interac ted w ith the NRI Achie vers E ditor ial team, which apropos was covering the event, and shared his thoughts on NRIs coming for th and taking up, adopting development work in their ow n home states, v illages and regions, contributing and par ticipating in resurgent India's ne w g row th stor y. We br ing you here ex cer pts f rom that free-wheeling conversation we had w ith him ...

To introduce myself, I am f rom Har yana, Tohana town, b or n and brou g ht he re I ha d opte d for an M BA i n Marke t i ng and F i nanc e f rom I M T Gha z i ab a d af te r c ompl e t i ng my electrical engineering from Pune University, and began my career as a marketing e xe c ut ive for Si e me ns Wh i l e t he re I worke d t he w hol e of t he Nor t h Ind i an market for Siemens products in the marketing automation division. After a while the US bug bit me and I decided to move to t he U S and t r y my for tu ne t he re. To star t with that meant I move into a new f ield, Information Technolog y For me it was a big switch – from marketing to programming. it meant coming to grips with many ne w and u n k now n , u n f am i l i ar matters New field, new countr y, new environment, ever ything new ough while at Siemens I had worked on a SAP implementation that had given me a pretty good idea about the IT side of things, when I actually moved out of my comfor t zone and move d into IT, I st i l l lacke d t he know le dge t hat was ne e de d Yet deep in me I wanted to get into it, not just b e caus e it was t he most up coming field but also because I felt that IT is important not just for my development and prosp er ity, but a ls o for my count r y, my people So I said okay let me risk it, take t he chance and s e e w hat happ ens. I reached the US. It was 1999. e economy went into a massive re cession. e dotcom bubble had long bust and the sector was experiencing a colossal slowdown It to ok me t he b etter p ar t of a go o d two years before I could achieve some amount of st abi lity, le ar n t he litt le t r icks of t he trade and polish up on my IT skills In the year 2003, I finally mustered up the guts and gumpt ion to kickst ar t my own IT business. My father's a civil engineer who worked for the Har yana state elec tricity

b oard, there is abs olutely no family histor y of doing business is background and lack of ac umen me ant I had to undergo a lot of struggle before I could start getting it right.

Today, touch wood we are doing good, we work out of Empire State Building in NYC, 200 engineers Here in India, I have promoted and r un a professional IT f irm b as e d out of Gu rg a on he re, 1 5 0 e ng ineers. We have a presence in S outh India too, a small of f ice in Chennai, TN. Planning to expand op erations, op en of f ices in Noida, UP and Hyderabad, Telangana We are i nto g row t h sp a c e s of t he e c onomy l i ke phar ma c e ut i c a ls , he a lt h c are, manu f a c tu r i ng … of fe r i ng te ch nol o g y and technolog y based solutions that can cater to various horizontals and ver ticals within these sectors

Talking about myself, I am married and have daughter Tanisha and my company is named aer her. I also have two sons. is t ime w hen t he CM invite d me to come and involve myself in state activities and in the state economy, I had a virgin thought. Why not adopt an entire village and become a benefactor for it, help de-

velop it ? S o I e volve d t his concept to make Village Dangra, a model village e idea is to showcase this village such that other NRIs can be motivated and inspired to get interested in similar activity, adopt villages and contribute holistically in developing them. Our current government in India is pushing cleanliness, health and sanitation through Swachch Bharat – so I plan to t a ke up c udgels and t horoug h ly clean up Dangra village, through providing good sanitation, toilets and other stuff to the village Education for girl children is t he next item on my agenda In t hes e times of global warming etc , sustainability is imp or t ant, s o S olar p ower, biogas energ y, etc., is anot her item on t he agenda. In my interac tions with the villagers s o far, I have got ver y go o d response from the village e people were super excited that somebody wants to do good for their village. I would here like to share wit h you t hat t he CM to o is ver y supp or tive in this I am now ver y much excited for this village agenda

Pic: Rajeev Tyagi

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Ashort conversation it was a succinct invite for me to go over for a quick tête-à-tête with someone he respects and looks up to Piqued and seeking an end to this mystic myster y of the referenced, this curious cat yours tr uly, was within 30 minutes of the call leaning on his doorbell. Ushering me inside, my host directs me towards the sitout, where I find a young charming lady seated in the company of a youthful Sikh, who it transpires is her cousin And it comes as a bit of surprise to me when she is introduced by my host as a “Baba” Ji (a spiritual person)

My host then goes on to narrate a most recent life experience of his related to the Baba that had strengthened his belief in Baba ji’s foresight even more, bringing him

TH E EN IGM ATIC POWER TO I NTU IT

full-circle to the conclusion that the larger humanity ought to benefit f rom her talents About a for tnight ago, Baba ji had mentioned it to Satiija that he was once again going to figure among the top 10 of Asia’s richest in the United Kingdom. is rich-list has an annual routine of getting refreshed and while Satiija has been figuring in this list for several years now, he was pretty sceptical of making it to the top 10 this year, having liquidated some of his

assets in the recent past. In his reckoning he expected to figure somewhere in the 20s Baba ji though was adamant and swore to him that he will make it to either the ninth or the tenth position, failing which she went to the extent of saying that she would give up all babagiri if her calculations prove wrong e 7th Asian Rich List was subsequently released on the 18th March and lo and behold! Satiija occupies pride of place at the 10th, just as Baba

It was the e vening of an otherwise typical nose-to-the-grindstone day. I had ju st e nte red the cool e nv iron s of the D elhi Press Club lounge thirsting for a sundow ne r ae r cove r ing a protocol stiffened formal pressmeet of the Sur iname VP. My handy that had bee n sile nced for the e ve nt, g rowl s in my pocket, v ibrating pe rsi ste ntly, e voking a tinge of annoyance. Pulling it out, I s ee the call i s f rom one who rarely if e ve r takes initiative to te xt or call me. Feeling a mite honoured to be at the receiv ing end, I pick up the call f rom Rajesh “Lucky” S atiija bu sinessman, gold-uranium-mine r, apple-g rower and global business tycoon ...

ji had predicted ... Aghast at the accuracy of her prognosis, Satiija today goes to the extent of saying that for his, she (Baba ji) is the only guru in the world today !

Dilvinder the baba ji’s cousin, also opened up and took it upon himself to regale me with yet a few more interesting anecdotes, all revolving on how many others have tended to become her followers aer hearing her insights and seeing them come wholly true in their own lives. e Baba, apropos, was her calm self, speaking no more than a word or two in between Aer hearing all this, I was both intrigued and inquisitive, and in fact thirsting for more but as it was getting late, I proposed an appointment with the Baba ji for the next day, seeking ostensibly another extended opportunity to delve deeper into the hazy outlines of a now emergent stor y, and seek answers to the gazillion questions have now begun swarming within ...

Now as an aside what with my twenty plus years of journalism, I too have come across and interacted with numerous godmen, spiritualists, religious leaders, healers, gur us, mystics and what have you More oen than not, my experiences and memories of those encounters have evoked more of scepticism and nagging suspicions than inspiring faith or overawing me to adoration, as I obser ved the virtual empires these folks have managed to establish purely based upon human credulity and adulation. Satiija I have known for a while now as a ‘ canny ’ businessman with an ‘ uncanny ’ knack and acumen for a good deal, a hard-nosed, worldly-wise and critical evaluator. His avowal of the Baba’s intuitive prowess and her ability to see through the mists of time ended up spelling for me a scenario where there be more of truth and credibility in the Baba’s adeptness. Yet deep in my gut the c ynical Journo was, well, being his usual c ynical self and all I needed was more time And so it was for more time I asked, on the morrow and she agreed e next morning, I drove down with R ajiv Tyagi, senior photographer, to call upon Baba ji, who was being hosted in Delhi by one of her staunch and devout followers, Ms Rimple Sethi Talking of the Baba ’ s host, there is this anecdotal stor y about how her relationship with the Baba came about. She had sought out baba ji to solicit advice on some vexing family problems Baba ji had taken one look at her, and commented that Rimple has had her banglow driveway dug up and redone three times astounding Rimple with the accurac y of the fact. Baba ji then also pointed to a fountain on her property that was kept idle most of the time, and advised her to keep this water-source running all the time. Once this was implemented, Rimple’s vexatious family

problems faded away, and the household became a happier place. is saw Rimple devoting herself to Baba ji, so much so that Baba ji these days prefers to stay with Rimple when in Delhi

Now, coming back to our story aer a few niceties and some small banter on arrival, we got down to the nitty-gritty of an impromptu photo session while Rajiv clicked away, I engaged in small talk, picking up threads where we had le off the earlier eve, seeking more insight and quality information about her. Also in the interim, between yesterday and now, I had fortuitously managed to root out a couple of Baba ji’s followers who were also in my circles, and their inputs about her aura, glow and feeling of goodness she carries around herself had not merely given me more grist for the mill it had reinforced the gut feel that here was someone adept at what others claim she could, though she herself had said nar y a word about her myriad abilities I could even subjectively sense the will-owisp of a spiritual aura around her All of a sudden, things clicked into place, and I got the floodgates open Maybe because I walked into this least encumbered with mental extra baggage, an open mind and with a resignation that I might just as well make do with what I reap this day Astonishingly though, it did go famously well, and I garnered as much as was needed to pen these pages you read now.

Gradually, Dilvinder too opened up, confessing that as a close sibling, it was neither easy nor palatable for him to easily accept his cousin’s prowess or grow his faith in her foresights. He shares an incident that ex-post-facto mesmerized him and succeeded in his overcoming the mental block in instilling faith in Baba ji’s intuitive reach into other people’s lives It was about 10 years ago when Baba ji cautioned him about some painful differences

that are likely to emerge among immediate family members, that would put paid to peace within the confines of his home and to boot, she was quite explicit about how it was all likely to shape up And then she had le it at that, having given her cousin a heads-up well in advance Time passed, and this cautionar y note slipped into the depths of his passive memor y and he almost forgot about it until a good two and a half years later Dilvinder was going through a really rough patch in his life when it all came flooding back to him, as he recalled that fateful day when his didi had prognosticated precisely such a fallout in the family

I turned to Baba ji and asked her, ‘how does it all work ? Do you get visions, paravisua lize, or is it s ome guiding s ound, some augur y that tells you what lies ahead ? She mulled it over for just a moment before averring that it was none of these, asserting that it was nothing more than an intuit ive g limps e t hroug h t he shi ing sands of time that momentarily shows her

w hat wi l l b efa l l and having g limps e d that, the words flow automatically, without her having to g ive shap e to her thoughts and verbalise it. As an aside, she shares with us that her paternal grandfather, Pritam Singh ji, was a spiritually enlightened soul, possessed of tremendous visionar y powers from whom she intuits she has inherited the way to see that has time and again blessed her with the ability to look into people’s lives and the more she has lo oke d, t he more adept she has become at it ...

Baba ji (Neena Singh) was born to the Nijj ar f am i ly of Ho sh i ar pu r i n P u nj ab, the first daughter to Sardar Jaswant Singh and S ard ar n i S at w i nd e r Kau r She has t wo you nge r s ibl i ng s , b ot h s iste rs A landed middle class extended family living the old way, the Nijjars were like any ot he r nond e s c r ipt pu nj abi s i k h f am i ly, devout and god-fearing Her grandfather, Nihal Singh ji, was a well-known seer, an a d e pt w ho wou l d hol d op e n hous e to help those who oft made a beeline to him,

seeking his visionar y glimpses into their lives, and his advice as als o guidance to them along the path of least resistance to a b e tte r l i fe As a you ng ste r, Ne e na , a pre c o c i ous ch i l d cl o s e to he r D a d aj i, would often ensconcing herself on his lap as he wou l d hol d c ou r t w it h h is mu lt iv ar i ous s e eke rs f rom t he re g i on w ho wanted him to tell them how to possibly circumvent their problems

Al l t hroug h chi ld ho o d and yout h, Neena has surprised and astonished many wit h her t a lents, t houg h she has ne ver e ver attempte d to conver t t hes e unique endowments given her by nature into any commercia l venture or prop osit ion or even constituenc y building. As one who ac t ively s e eks to remain anonymous rat her t han b e famous, she ke eps a s cr upu lously low profi le and t here is

Rajesh Satiija with Babaji

not hing much wor t h ment ioning ab out her in the public domain.

Living the life of an ‘extra’ ordinar y and normal young lady, she is as comfortable in ever yday clothes as well as in jeans and tops, and is quite fond of going on long drives through the picturesque Himalayan countr yside She takes pleasure in little things, including ever yday chores be it sweeping and mopping their home, or cooking a fine meal for the family. Not only is she a devout Sikh who swears by the Guru Grant Sahib and the teachings of Baba Gur u Nanak, she is a staunch believer in Shiva the cosmic dancer as in-

socialite types who are more keen to be seen with her than seek to derive any real benefit to their lives She carries this aloofness to such an extent that oen she o abstains f rom meeting anyone twice or even picking up calls from them. When I asked her how she could make out if the said call is not in reality an SOS from a follower, she has it pat “ my intuition tells me when it is so, and if the right vibes are there, I pick up the calls of course ”

grained into her by her grandfather Shunning adulation and flatter y, she is intent on living her life her own simple way explaining away the modus operandi of the various gurus and babas as humbugs no satsangs, mass outreaches or darshans for her she simply doesn’t believe in them and what’s more, openly says that she would like to shun the

But as it so works out those who do come in touch with her swear by her like Rimple Sethi or even R ajesh Satiija for that matter, who shares with me that for long now, he does not embark on any venture or business deal without first sounding it out to Baba ji, a fact that I find speaks volumes about the faith and confidence Baba ji commands in her followers the modicum of predictability she brings into their life’s equations indeed goes a pretty long way in successfully diminishing the gross uncertainty of their futures aer all, the net result of the satisfaction of a job well done, a deal profitably clinched and an affair amicably concluded is ‘happiness’ and what better quotient than ‘happiness’ to measure a life well lived?

This uncanny ability of Baba ji to make a marked and valuable dif ference to the ver y lives of her adherents has also meant t hat she has to re ckon w it h an e ve r g row i ng c i rcl e of fol l owe rs f rom many walks of life, despite her strenuously cons c i ous e f for t s to re mai n ob s c u re and anony mous . B ol ly wo o d p e rs ona l it i e s , big-ticket entrepreneurs, g lobal tyco ons and i ndust r i a l ist s , p owe r f u l p e opl e politicians, emirs, modern-day merchant pr i nc e s f rom home and abro a d . . . you name them, and you will f ind some connected with Baba ji at some spiritual level or the other

What more do I say I am still at a loss of words to paint, nay portray this strange, enigma-like persona of the Baba ji... and having confessed that, I think this will remain an evolving stor y one that continues to develop as our understanding of Baba ji and her doings evolve too

Dilvinder With Babaji

Rimple Sethi With Babaji

Rajeev Gupta e author is a veteran journalist who had been associated with many Electronic Channels before starting NRI Achievers magazine He may be reached at: editor@nriachievers.in

Over the last 2 decades, Back pain has reached epidemic propor tions worldwide Here are some facts:  80 – 85% persons suffer from significant low-back pain at some point in their life time  70% sufferers have a recurrence within one year of initial episode  In the US for example it is the second most common ailment aer the

PAIN

ubiquitous common cold. 

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor or miss work 

It is the most common cause of job-related disability. 

It is responsible for the highest number of man-hours lost in industr y ough no proper epidemiological study has been done

on India we could posit that incidence and prevalence here would more or less be the same as in western countries Most of the predisposing factors are equally if not more prevalent here in Indian populations as lifestyles change predominantly to reflect western mores.

Root causes of Back Pain may be summarized as:

MECHANICAL BACK PAIN: Most common cause. Weak or strained muscles and ligaments are not able to support the back leading to manifestation of pain

NERVE RO OT PAIN: Caused due to pressure on the ner ve or oen due to a herniation (or bulging) of the disc between lower back bones Sciatica is an example of ner ve root pain Such pain tends to be shar p, in one spot, and associated with numbness in the area of the leg that the affected ner ve supplies.

SPINAL STENOSIS: Wit h ageing t he size of t he canal in w hich t he ner ves lie and t he op ening t hroug h w hich t he y come out of the spine gradually reduces, le ading to incre asing pressure on ner ve ro ots is can result in s ciatica Classically, leg pain increases as a person walks, further forcing the individual to sit down Aer a while of rest the person can again walk for around the same distance. With t ime t he dist ance w hich t he individua l can walk gradually reduces

DEGENERATED DISC DISEASE: Again with ageing, discs tend to degenerate and gradually lose their normal function is is another cause of pain

INFECTIONS: Infections like tubercular or other bacterial infection oen result in back pain. ey also cause weakness in the

legs due to pressure on ner ves by the pus and infected bone/so tissue Infections are generally associated with fever.

INFLAMMATION: ere are conditions where antibodies are formed against one ’ s own joints and tissues R heumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis etc., are some such conditions. Back pain is accompanied by morning stiffness.

TUMORS: Possibly cancerous, a source of skeletal pain

REFERRED PAIN FROM OTHER ORGANS: Pain from other organs may also be felt in the back, and is known as referred pain Intra-abdominal disorders like appendicitis, aneur ysms et al., can cause referred pain.

RISK FACTORS

some have propensity leading to prolonged adoption of improper posture.



Obesity : Too much bodyweight causes stress the back and cause pain

 Stressfu l life sty l e: E mot i ona l st ress pl ays a role in how s e vere p ain is and how l ong it l ast s . St re ss has a te ndency to affect musculature, causing back muscles to tense and reduce threshold to withstand pain



Smoking: Reduces blood flows to lower spine and causes spinal discs to degenerate. Smokers suffer from inadequate nutrients reaching discs in their backs Smoker’s cough also causes back pain

Get a spine check done immediately if any of the following are red-flagged: 

Back Pain of more than 6 weeks duration 

Pain radiating to one or both legs below the knee. 

Associated symptoms of fever, weight loss, loss of appetite. 

Morning stiffness with or without pain in other joints of the body

Associated weakness in the legs and/or par tial/complete loss of bowel/bladder control.

Significant trauma

PREVENTION

Removal of high risk factors.

Specific back exercises.

Physical conditioning exercises.



Sedentar y life styles: One of two factors mainly responsible for increased incidence of back pain, leading to weak back and abdominal muscles which may not properly support the spine 

Improp er p osture: Leads to stress on muscles and ligaments which in turn can’t support the back properly.



Profession: A risk factor since

Proper posture in everyday activities

Controlling any interfering psychosocial, professional or personal

emotional factors.

Dr Har vinder Singh Chhabra

author is Medical Director and Chief of Spinal Ser vices at the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, Delhi

A

Dr Har vinder Singh Chhabra

DIASPORIC BAN KI NG–FAQs

For any Indian citiz e n e mig rating l o ng t e r m o v e r s e a s , an i s s u e s t o reckon w ith i s how the y w ill manag e t h e i r f i n an c i al af f ai r s i n t h e homeland. If you are one of the m, h e re i s an FAQ o n h o w y o u c an m an ag e y o ur b ank a c c o unt s an d p o i nt e r s o n w h e t h e r y o u n e e d t o m ak e any ch ang e s o n a c qu i r i ng NRI statu s. Eve n O CIs (O ve rs ea s Cit i z e n s o f In d i a ) t h o s e o f y o u who have take n up citiz e n ship of an o t h e r c o u nt r y b ut m ai nt ai n connec tion s in India w ill be be ne f it e d b y t hi s FAQ it g iv e s i nf o on how to ope n accounts in India p l u s d o s & d o n ' t s o f s u ch a ccounts. D o read on ...

Many categories of Indian Diaspora are permitted to open accounts with Indian banks, but the shades of grey and the fine print in the T&Cs are oen missed by many. is feature begins by clarif ying major pointers Any NRI can open 'NRI' accounts with any of the banks authorised by the RBI and can do so by visiting the nearest branch of the selected bank in India or overseas. Most banks today offer a seamless online process through which NRIs can fulfill the account opening formalities and complete the process f rom the comfor t of their home/workplace without having to physi-

cally travel to India. In a nutshell, there are two options. NRIs can open two types of accounts NRE (Non Resident External) and NRO (Non Resident Ordinar y) with an authorised dealer in India, which is usually any bank authorised to deal in foreign exchange. Now for more details.

Non Resident External (NRE) Accounts is is a Indian Rupee denominated account and facilitatesnon residents to remit their overseas earnings to India and hold them in Indian rupees. is account is exempt from Income Tax in India and the funds in this account are fully and freely repatriable without any restrictions An NRE account may be in the form of savings or current account. Such accounts can be opened only by the NRI himself and not through a holder of the power of attorney NRIs can open an NRE account jointly with their resident close relatives such as parents, spouse or children on a ‘former or sur vivor ‘basis. e resident close relative shall be eligible to operate the account as a Power of Attorney holder in accordance with the extant instructions during the life time of the NRI/PIO account holder

e credits that are allowed to NRE accounts are inward remittances to India, proceeds of account payee cheques, demand dras / bankers' cheques issued against encashment of foreign currenc y, where the instruments issued to the NRE account holder are supported by encashment certificate issued by AD Categor y-I / Categor y-II, transfers from other NRE / FCNR accounts, sale proceeds of FDI investments, interest accruing on the funds held in such accounts, interest on Government securities/dividends on units of mutual funds purchased by debit to the NRE/FCNR(B) account of the holder, certain types of refunds, etc

Payments that can be made from NRE accounts are local disbursements, transfer

to other NRE accounts of the same person or to the NRE or NRO account of another NRI, remittances outside India, investments in shares / securities/commercial paper of an Indian company, etc

Banks are allowed to extend loans against security of funds held in NRE Account either to the depositors or to third parties without any limits, subject to the usual margin requirements NRE accounts can be operated through power of attorney in favour of residents for the limited purpose of withdrawal of local payments or remittances through normal banking channels to the account holder himself.

Non Resident Ordinar y (NRO) Accounts : Any person resident outside India may open NRO account with an authorised dealer or an authorised bank. NRO Savings accounts can also be maintained with the Post Offices in India It is pertinent to mention that an individual who becomes an NRI, should immediately inform his bank about the change in his status from “resident” to “non-resident” and have his resident accounts converted to NRO accounts.

NRO accounts may be opened and maintained in the form of current or savings accounts NRO accounts are r upee denominated i.e. the account should be denominated in Indian Rupees.e accounts may be held jointly with residents and / or with non-resident Indian e NRO account holder may opt for nomination facility.

Permissible credits to NRO accounts are

current income like rent, dividend, pension, interest, etc., transfers from rupee accounts of non-resident banks, remittances received in permitted currency from outside India through normal banking channels, sale proceeds of assets including immovable property acquired out of rupee/ foreign currency funds or by way of legacy/ inheritance etc

Payments that can be made from NRO accounts are all local payments in rupees including payments for investments as specified by the Reser ve Bank and remittance outside India of current income like rent, dividend, pension, interest, etc , net of applicable taxes, of the account holder

NRI/O CIs are p er mitte d to remit an amount upto One million US dollars per financial year, subject to payment of applicable taxes Except current income and the limit of USD 1 Mn per financial year, b a lances in NRO accounts cannot b e repatriated overseas without the prior approval of RBI. Loans to non-resident account holders and to third parties may be granted in Rupees by Authorized Dealer / bank against the security of fixed deposits subject to certain terms and conditions

So, in a broad level, NRE accounts facilitate the overseas to India transactions and NRO accounts facilitate the within India transactions For the purpose of buying & selling of authorised share/ equity of companies listed in Indian stock exchanges, NRIs have to open an exclusive NRE and/or NRO Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) account

views expressed are the writer’s personal views and do not in anyway represent his organization’s interests or opinions )

(All

Anand Subramaniam

Author is a Group Vice President of D CB Bank

N EHA

DH UPIA GOES

BI KI N I SHOPPI NG I N FIJI

ere is no doubt about the fact that Neha Dhupia is one of the most stylish actresses in B-town But what many of us don’t know is that she even styles herself in films. In fact for her next film, Santa Banta Pvt Ltd, the actress did the same. Neha had to wear a bikini for an important scene in the film and for the same the actress chose to go and buy it herself Accompanied with the stylist of the film, the actress roamed for a few hours in the Fiji market and hunted for the right bikini.

ADITYA TO PLAY BOY NEXT DOOR

Actor Aditya Roy Kapoor’s look in his upcoming film alongside actor Shraddha Kapoor is very similar to how he is in real life e actor plays a boy-next-door and the film’s makers wanted him to be as natural as possible “Aditya has sported different looks in all his films. However, for his next, the director wanted Aditya to look just the way he is in real life. e makers feel that his role in the film matches his image in real life, which is why they want him to look as natural as possible,” says the actor’s spokesperson

TIGER—SHRADDHA SHARE A PASSIONATE KISS IN BAAGHI

PARIS BOLLYWOOD DANCER DON IA TANZI BIGGEST FAN OF SRK

Ever yone is awaiting the release of Maneesh Sharma‘s Fan starring Shah Rukh Khan with bated breath ough B ollywood se popuheir fanometimes board to r love for ourite star oticed by ah Rukh an seems e story of uch obfan

Baaghi director Sabbir Khan has maintained that his leads, Shraddha Kapoor and Tiger Shroff, displayed a sizzling chemistry from the first day of the shoot A ripped Tiger, dressed in a black vest, is seen passionately embracing his onscreen ladylove who has his shirt draped around her, as they share a kiss in the rain “Tiger and Shraddha share a great rapport having known each other since their school days and were really comfortable with each other

Mumbai

“MY B IGGEST I NSPI R ATION H A S B E E N R A J K A P O O R ”

— Sooraj Kumar Barjatya

At the outset, how happy are you w ith your latest film Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo’s box office success?

I am happy at the way Prem R atan Dhan Payo has fared at the box-office. I knew that it is a family film and I was catering to a family audience It was my desire to make a film with Salman that an entire family could watch together. is is my biggest success till date and I am happy that people liked it.

When you look back at your career, how do you feel?

When I launched my first film Maine P yar Kiya way back in 1988 with brand new faces like Salman Khan and Bhag yashree, to be f rank I was brasher, more demanding and definitely more technique conscious. Today, over the years, I have realized the supreme value of not only the characterization but also the written word I confess that today, it is pure stor y telling that inspires me I am more relaxed on the sets and have realized even more how important it is to give hope and show the good side of life to the audiences.

You began your career as an assistant on the sets of S aaraan sh produced by your home banner w ith Mahesh Bhatt as the director. Name one filmmaker who has in-

spired you in a big way, besides Mah h Bhatt that is?

Undoubtedly, my biggest inspir right from my formative years has al been Shri Raj Kapoor and all the great Films. I have been ver y fortunate to worked with Bhatt Saheb in Saaransh an obser ver to what a DIRECTOR means I have always wanted to make that one film where my father R ajbabu would be totally happy a proud as a passionate creative produc

While S alman Khan and Bhag yas were totally new when you launched film Maine Pyar Kiya with them, Sh Kapoor and Amr ita were already ten films old in films when you cast the your film Vivaah!

Honestly, Salman Khan , Bhag yas and I all learnt with experiments and finding our foot-space during the ma of Maine P yar Kiya, whereas b Shahid Kapoor and Amrita were 10 films old and hence knew so much more about the technique of film making which indeed helped me im mensely. I would not at all hesitate to that they had actually played much difficult roles than Salman Khan Bhag yashree did in Maine Pyar Kiya

You have always maintained th ivaah has been one of your most favorite subjec ts, e ven more than Maine P yar Kiya. Why?

I agree that my film Vivah has been one of the favorite subjects of my father since he read a news print about what happened to a couple to be in the 80’s in western U.P. He would keep discussing it with us, giving us encouragement to make it soon e climax of the film was ver y novel and it had never come earlier in any Hindi film any time before or aer. e entire credit

for that goes to my father. Vivah was about the courtship period and the tag line said - “A journey f rom engagement to marriage” During this period we do ever ything to make the other person happy. We travel hours to buy that one card which can give a smile to his/her face It is only aer marriage that we get into our day to day r ut and take each other for granted e ' I ' becomes more important. I hope people see Vivah again and remember

th i old times and go back and give time the effor t to their relationships. S o y problems would never arise

hat extent is the subject of paramount rtance to you as a filmmaker?

Primarily, a subject has to strike a chord within me I have to want to live that film for two/three years of my life During the filming, I live ch character, I like to see, read, meet yone and ever ything only related to subject. It has always been an obsesto make it look as natural and efforton screen

How do you strike the right balance ben being a producer and a director? a d i re c tor I ne e d to s it b a ck , travel look around and get energies But yes, as a production house we oing to move ag g ressively wit h 2/3 ms a year with other directors, more shows on tele vision and channelize into mobile and online enter tainme nt w h i ch my brot he r R ajj at looking into

ere are rumors that you are planning ake a action film with Salman Khan! is not at all that true that I am planto make an action film with Salman n. Right now, I am working on a subject. ough it is too early for me to dwell at length about what kind of subject it will be, all that I can say now is that it is not 100 percent action as is being speculated But yes, a film with Salman Khan is definitely there on the cards. A

e writer is a well-known & established film critic

Jyothi Venkatesh

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Th o se parent s w h o d o n o t ed u c ate their sons are their enemies; for as is a crane among swans, so are ignorant sons in a public assembly

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Many a bad hab i t i s d evel o p ed through over indulgence, and many a

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vz. ÙÎè · ç· ÙæÚ ßæÜ ß ÿæ, Î âÚ ÃØçQ · ƒæÚ × ÁæÙ ¥Íßæ Ú ãÙ ßæÜè S˜æè °ß çÕÙæ × ç˜æØô · æ Ú æÁæ Ø âÕ çÙpØ ãè àæèƒæ ÙcÅ ãô ÁæÌ ã Ð Trees on a r iverbank , a woman in another man ’ s house, and kings w ithout counselors go w ithout doubt to sw ift destr uction.

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Source : www.hindisahityadar pan.in

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Ratnakar, a robber once tr ied to rob sage Narad. It was a routine job for him, to kill and rob travellers. But this time was different. Narad asked him, you do all this for your family, but w ill your family also share the load of your sins. is le Ratnakar deep thinking. He checked w ith his family and to his sur pr ise, the y did not ag ree to share the burden of his sins, despite of have enjoyed the luxur ies it prov ided. At this, Ratnakar asked Narad to teach him the r ight path. Narad told him the stor y of Lord Ram and also said, you should chant god’s name. But the name he gave was ‘Mara’ (means dead). So Ratnakar star ted meditating and chanting MAR A-MAR A-MAR A…MA.R A.MA.R A.MA.R AMA.R AMA.R AM….R AM-R AM-R AM-R AM……

As you are able to note, his chant soon became Lord Ram’s Name. But by the time he could master his worship, he was buried deep in ant-hills. When he reached the divine stage, the holy voice f rom heaven told him to rise ki is of rd to e, i’s he it

to Sita’s children Luv and Kush, which they recited in R am ’ s cour t at’s how their father R am recognized them and momentarily reunited with his wife Sita.

across tried to interpret the epic in their local language During this interpretation and translation from oral traditions, many aspects of the stor y were changed However, one common and most important thing remains constant in all versions: Ramayana is actually a compilation of teaching of ancient Hindu sages It presents these teachings in a nice narrative, where each character, starting from Lord Rama to R avana and Sugreev are fundamental to cultural consciousness of the region, where Hinduism was prevailing

Most importantly, Ramayana is not restricted to Hinduism Muslims of S outh India incor porated the message of R amayana in their poems and the work is called Mappillapattu or Muslim R amayana Jains have their own version of R amayana, where instead of R ama, it is Laxman who kills Ravana, for which he is pushed to hell along with Ravana. Rama is characterized as an upright person who in the end sacrifices his kingdom, becomes a Jain monk and attains Moksha ey also believe that Ravana will one day be born as a Jain Tirthankara.

e Buddhist version is much different from others Here, King Dashrath was ruling Banaras (Varanasi) and not Ayodhya He sired R am, Laxman and Sita through his first wife. To save these siblings from his second wife, he sent the trio to HI-

malyas. 12 year later they come back, and now R am and Sita become consorts and rule the kingdom Interestingly, abduction of Sita has no mention in this version Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th spiritual master of Sikhs also wrote the stor y of Ram in his bani ‘Ath Chaubees Avataar’ in Sri Dasam Granth Even Gur u Granth Sahib mentions characters and messages of Ramayana at several places. ‘Salok Mahalla 9’ in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, written by Gur u Teg Bahadur (9th Sikh gur u) says: ‘Ram gayo, raavan gayo, jaako bahu parivaar, Kahu nanak thir kichh nahi, supne jiyo sansaar ’ Means, both Ram and R avan, who had such big family, le this mortal world. Nanak says, nothing is stable is world is like a dream Interestingly, while over 300 versions of R amayana exist, and even Maharishi Valmiki is said to have written two versions himself. His other version is called ‘Adbhut Ramayana ’ , where aer killing the 10-headed demon R avana, Lord R ama travels to Pushkar to kill his elder brother, the 1000-headed Ravana In this later part, Sita transforms into Goddess Mahakali or Shakti. B est par t is that even Lord R am prays to Goddess Shakti with 1008 divine names, which glories the virtues and attributes of the Goddess Rishi Ved Vyasa also authored a version of Ramayana, where entire episode of maid

Mantara provoking Queen Kaikayi to send R am to exile was not an act of cruelty. Goddess Saraswati comes as Mantara to play her part in the larger drama of destiny Ram was born to remove the evils of Ravana, hence Saraswati helped the situation. Since Ram knew of Sita’s abduction, he ensured that Sita had her illusion born of fire in place Here, all characters and their acts are portrayed as spiritual messages

In Sr i L an k a , a ve rs i on of R am ay an a depic ts R avana as Hero. The Ma l aysi an version places D ashrat ha as g rands on of proph e t Ad am an d R av an a re c e ive s b o ons f rom Al la h Als o, L axman is hero i ns te a d of R am In t h e T h ai ve rs i on , Sit a i s a d au g hte r of R av an a an d Mando dar y and Hanuman is t he main hero, i ns te a d of R am or L a x m an . D e s pite a l l t hes e var iat ions, t he core mess age of humanity and spir itua lity in t his epic stor y remains t he s ame

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T h e L a n d O f L ove , N at u r e & A dve n t u r e

e g iant snow mountain on its path cuts across different cultures f rom Islam, both Tantr ic-Mahayana and Hinayana for m of Buddhi sm, Hindui sm and e ven shelters the fierce head hunters of Nagaland among numerous other tribes and sub tribes w ith their distinct heritage. Sikkim is one such former Buddhist kingdom g row ing by the mountains shadow.”

Sikkim is a landlocked Indian State loc ate d in t he Hima l ayan mount ains

Sikkim is a tiny former Kingdom in the Himalayas between Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and the Indian state of West B engal. Sikkim is one of the smallest states in India both in terms of population and area The present population

of Sikkim stands at 6 44 L akhs as compared to last year figure of 6 37 L akhs in 2015 Sikkim c ur rent ly do es not have any op erational airports or railheads because of its rough terrain However, Pakyong Airport, the state's first airport, located at a distance of 30 km (19 Miles) f rom Gangtok Nat iona l Hig hway 31A and

National Highway 31 link Siliguri to Gangtok Privately run bus, tourist taxi and jeep ser vices operate throughout Sikkim, and also connect it to the Siliguri

FLORA AND FAUNA

Sikkim is situated in an ecological hotspot of

the lower Himalayas, one of only three among th eco regions of India Owing to its altitudinal gr dation, the state has a wide variety of plants, fro tropical species to temperate, alpine and tund ones Sikkim is home to around 5,000 species flowering plants, 515 rare orchids, 60 primu species, 36 rhododendron species, 11 oak var eties, 23 bamboo varieties, 16 conifer species, 36 types offerns and ferns allies, 8 tree ferns, and ov 424 medicinal plants

CUISINE

Noodle-based dishes such as thukpa chowmein, thanthuk, fakthu, gyathuk and wonton are common in Sikkim Momos steamed dumplings filled with vegetables, buffalo meat or pork and ser ved with soup are a few popular snacks B eer, whiskey, rum and brandy

are widely consumed in Sikkim, as is tongba, a millet-based alcoholic beverage

TOURIST PL ACES IN SIKKIM

Rumtek monaster y 24 km from Gangtok in E ast Sikkim the main seat of the Karma Kag yu school of Tibetan Buddhism in Sikkim Originally built by the 9th Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje in 1740, but fell into disrepair. e current structure dates from 1959.

Tsongmo Lake: 40 km from Gangtok in East Sikkim on Nathula route Tsongmo Lake (also called Changu Lake or Tsomgo Lake) is a large lake in the East Sikkim district of India It is oval-shaped, with a length of about one kilometer and has an average depth of fieen metres It is also a home of Brahminy Ducks besides being a stopover for various migrator y birds e lake remains hidden in the rich forest cover

Gurudongmar Lake is at an altitude of 5,150 metres. e lake is pristine, and is considered sacred. e lake is frozen during the winters, except for a small part which is considered to be touched by Guru Padmasambhava Visits to the lake are allowed aer obtaining a permit from the government e whole area is controlled by army, due to its proximity to China. It is advisable not to run or speak loudly here

Hanuman Tok is a Hindu temple complex which is located in the upper reaches of Gangtok, the capital of the Indian state of Sikkim e temple is dedicated to lord Hanuman, the Monkey God, and maintained by the Indian army.

Khecheopalri L ake, originally known as Kha-Chot-Palri (meaning the heaven of Padmasambhava), is a lake located near Khecheopalri village, 147 kilometers (91 mi) west of Gangtok in the West Sikkim district of the Northeastern Indian state of Sikkim e lake is surrounded by a broad-leaved mixed temperate forest

SIKKIM IS SITUATED IN AN ECOLOGICAL HOTSPOT OF THE LOWER HIMALAYAS, ONE OF ONLY THREE AMONG THE ECO REGIONS OF INDIA.